As the Memorial Tower clock stuck midnight, few signs of life were seen on the University campus. The Student Union, Parade Ground and Quad — filled just a few days earlier by students finishing their first week of class — all resembled a ghost town as Hurricane Gustav barrels toward its projected landfall Monday afternoon on the Louisiana coast.”There’s no one here,” said Craig Newman, business management freshman. “It’s all closed down.”Newman cycled around campus Sunday night for one last glimpse of the University before Gustav confines him to Beauregard Hall with his two roommates, who are also weathering the storm on campus.”I figure I’m not going to be able to get out of the dorm for another day and a half,” Newman said. “I wanted to ride around while I could.”According to an e-mail from Interim Emergency Operations Center Director D’Ann Morris, the University is “ceasing operations effective at 4:00 a.m. Monday,” and the EOC will monitor Gustav’s effects and “survey the campus after 3:00 a.m. Tuesday” to advise when it is safe to re-open operations. The LSU Police Department will only respond to emergencies during this time.Interim Vice Chancellor Eric Monday said nine of the University’s EOC members are spending Sunday night in the command center at the Public Safety building on campus.Newman volunteered on Saturday from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. at the AgCenter, which is being used as a bus triage center. Newman said he received a broadcast e-mail asking for volunteers, and he decided to lend a helping hand. A freshman from San Antonio, Newman said he also wanted to meet other students while volunteering.Newman, who has never experienced a hurricane, said he helped nurses bring food and water to patients traveling from New Orleans to Alexandria. Those unable to continue traveling were taken off the buses and sent to the PMAC, which is being used a special needs center now housing more than 250 people.Judson Moore, a 2005 University alum, said he traveled to Baton Rouge from Memphis, Tenn., where he works as a concert promoter, to visit with family and friends during Labor Day weekend as well as to attend the Tiger’s season opener against Appalachian State. But when Moore realized Gustav was headed toward his alma mater, he said he quickly shifted gears to volunteer at the PMAC.”It’s very apparent people have planned for this incident,” Moore said. “They’re executing it very, very well. There’s a lot of professional staff, and it seems like there’s a lot of volunteers. If we’re lacking, it can’t possibly be by much.”Moore volunteered through the University’s Web site and began work Sunday. He said he did facilities work, helped to move patients and filled out paper work.The PMAC houses between 200 and 300 cots, Moore said, which are sectioned into grids of 20, divided by poles hung with drapes. The PMAC floor’s exterior is lined with tables providing registration, phone and dining services, Moore said. He also said National Guardsmen have been posted at the entrances to control access and protect the patients and volunteers within the PMAC.When Moore volunteered in the PMAC during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he was involved with Student Government and worked at the PMAC. He said when he volunteered then, he had a more hands-on role in planning. This time around, he’s waiting for instructions.Moore said he saw a good mix of volunteers, including many freshmen and even an exchange student from Germany who has only been in the United States for one month.”It’s calmer this time,” Moore said. “People are calm and reserved. People seem to be responding to it like routine. Last time [during Katrina] it was panic. It was shock. People were not prepared. People were responding to something new and unknown and were scared because of that. This time around, there are the prayers and hopes we won’t have a repeat from Katrina. I think people are prepared to know what they’ll go through now.”—-Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected]